


Everyday

by TheProudPrincess



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst, Crying, F/M, Forgiveness, High School Musical References, Hurt/Comfort, I hope the metaphor came through, and should be canon, anyway, if not I'm dumb, it's great, nini and Ricky learn how to actually communicate their feelings, sadjkhf, so many of their problems would be solved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-19 00:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22035847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheProudPrincess/pseuds/TheProudPrincess
Summary: After a misunderstanding, Ricky gets a surprise that happens "once in a lifetime".
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 2
Kudos: 129





	Everyday

**Author's Note:**

> "Everyday" is underrated, you can't change my mind.

He didn’t want to be up here singing. It’s not like he was a singer now. Sure, he had done that one musical, but that was just to get closer to Nini again. It’s not like he actually liked singing. No, that was ludicrous. But everyone else seemed to have a different view point on things. 

He had just come to the talent show to support his friends. As they were all theater nerds, they of course were performing. Ashlyn wrote an original song, which she killed by the way, Gina slayed her cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “Walk Away” with a killer dance routine, Seb murdered his solo, in a good way of course, and Carlos being Carlos was the choreographer of the night. Apparently, he had been planning something with the rest of the cast for the past week and a half. And while that may not seem like a lot of time, Carlos is a magic maker in that expertise, a week and a half is nothing to him. 

Ricky was the chosen soloist for the project. He declined it immediately for many reasons. One, he doesn’t sing, two, he doesn’t dance, and three, things with Nini were not going smoothly and she was his priority. She always has been even when they weren’t together. When you’ve known someone since kindergarten, coined their nickname and microwaved their barbie, that sort of thing just happens; Even when you’re not exactly on speaking terms.

The worst part about all of this is it’s just one big misunderstanding. After the opening night of High School Musical, Gina had announced that she would be staying and out of excitement, Ricky had picked her up into a hug and spun her. Of course, this was moments after he and Nini had finally kissed. Well, not moments, more like a half hour or so as the kiss had happened during intermission. 

And this time, the kiss wasn’t just a “caught up in the moment” kind of thing. No. It was a genuine kiss. One that had bubbled out of all the tension that had been seething below their veins for the past couple of months. Nini had run off; scared. Scared that she wasn’t good enough to entertain the audience. That she was foolish that she could think she could ever play the lead role and get away with it without slipping up on stage or someone complaining that her voice is horrid or her acting was subpar. So she had gone where she thought no one would find her, but of course, someone did. Ricky did. 

The rooftop. They stumbled upon it one day during lunch when they had gotten on the topic of the rooftop scene they had to do for the musical. Nini had always wondered if the rooftop actually existed as it was always just a rumor and it was more likely that they had built the set just for the movie or that it was really at another location as opposed to East High. And sure enough, the infamous rooftop was real, and both Ricky and Nini had made it a habit to use it as a sort of escape at separate times. 

She was huddled in the corner, hugging her knees when Ricky had found her. Dressed up in the red dress for the final acts-breaking free and we’re all in this together. Her face was buried within herself making Ricky go unnoticed as he climbed the stairs. He cleared his throat to signal he was here.

“Nini, hey, what’s going on? You’ve got like eight minutes before showtime, Carlos and Ms. Jenn are going absolutely nuts down there…” He said softly, inching closer to her, careful not to startle her. She slowly raised her head up to face him as he sat dow next to her, her eyes red and puffy from crying. 

“I-I just can’t do it, Ricky. I don’t know why I was stupid enough to ever believe I could. Me play Gabriella? A leading role? In front of over a hundred people? That’s just-it’s too many people to let down.” Ricky hated everything about what had happened then. The way her brown eyes looked so dull instead of the normal hint of the sun they usually had in them, the way she was hiding, the way she thought she wasn’t good enough. He hated it. He hated when she put herself down. She was brilliant. Completely and utterly brilliant. Everything about her was. Her smile, her voice, her love of music and self expression, everything. And Ricky hated that she couldn’t see that. 

“Hey, hey,” he cooed, bring her closer to him, her head immediately finding its place on his shoulder, his hands finding a gentle rhythm through her hair. 

“I won’t have you talking like that. I told you your talent was one in a million and I meant it. You’re incredible Nini. I’ve known that since the day I met you all the way back in Kindergarten. Ms. Jenn gave you the role for a reason-it’s time for even more people to see how incredible you are,” He ranted. 

And that’s when it happened. They had made eye contact, Ricky’s heart beating a mile a minute, the sunlight in Nini’s eyes appearing for just a moment before she cupped her hands onto his cheeks, and crashed her lips onto his. 

He had wanted to stay that way for forever. Her legs finding their way to rest across his knees, her fingers tracing his cheek and neck, moving together in a complete synchronicity. But, as Ms. Jenn would say, the show had to go on, and who knows how much time they had spent on that rooftop already. Everyone was waiting and so they had left without much further conversation, especially conversation dealing with what had just happened, but it seemed to be, at least to Ricky, and unsaid truce. 

And it was. Until the hug with Gina happened….thirty minutes later. Ricky didn’t think anything of it. He had thought that Nini knew how he really though about her, even if he still hasn’t said it, but he realizes now that it was a dumb mistake. A hug is something friends give each other, that much is true, but Ricky didn’t have to go all out like the way he had. He really didn’t mean anything by it other than the excitement of another outsider joining his side. But man, was he really hitting himself hard in the head over it now, 

It’s been two weeks since that happened. Two weeks of not talking to Nini. He’s tried to call her, of course it just goes straight to voicemail now. He’s even gone to her house, but her moms just tell him that she’s not there every time. He felt defeated. Defeated and dumb; so very dumb, He’s spent how many months trying to win the girl of his dreams back and when he finally does he blows it again. Maybe he doesn’t even deserve Nini. Who was he kidding…maybe? Try he definitely doesn’t deserve Nini. 

But now he was stuck singing this stupid song on stage in front of the whole school while he was trying to focus on getting his kindergarten crush back. How could he manage to do that with all the thoughts racing in his head? Plus, why did the song have to be so slow? And wasn’t everyone else supposed to be on stage with him? This wasn’t how he rehearsed it with Ashlyn yesterday. 

“Once in a lifetime, means there’s no second chance. So I believe that you and me, should grab it while we can,” Ricky sang into he mic, hoping that everyone else would join him on stage soon. Trying to avoid looking like he didn’t know what he was doing, even though he really hadn’t a clue what he was doing whatsoever, he opened his mouth to sing the next line, when someone else took over.

“Make it last forever, And never give it back,” the voice sang. His heart skipped a beat. He knew that voice. But it couldn’t be. He glanced over at Ashlyn at the piano, seeing if she would give him any sort of confirmation, but she only gave him a smirk. He glanced towards stage right and then stage left, hoping that the source of the voice would be off stage, but they were no where to be found. He got so caught up in trying to find the source that he almost forgot to sing the next line.

“It’s our turn, and I’m lovin’ where we’re at.” That line stung just a bit as his mind showed him images of the two of them kissing on the rooftop and Nini’s eyes when she had seen him hugging Gina. 

“Because this moment’s really all we have,” Ricky managed to sing, the voice harmonizing along with him. There was only one person who could harmonize with him so perfectly, so effortlessly, without any hesitation.

“Everyday, of our lives.” And that person was no other than Nini Salazar-Roberts.

“Wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight,” she sang, emerging from the back of the auditorium, where he realized the rest of the cast was standing and sharing knowing glances, as she walked slowly towards him down the aisle, wearing a white dress that made her look as If she was a vague memory from a dream. 

“Gonna run, while we’re young,” they harmonized together as Ricky met her at the steps leading up to the stage, taking her hand and guiding her up.

“And keep the faith, everyday” Ricky sang the last bit alone, not letting go of Nini’s hand as he pulled them center stage. He was surprised that she took it, his hand, after everything that had happened. But, he wasn’t complaining. Especially when she surprised him with a kiss on the cheek as the music began to pick up. 

They continued through the chorus. Though he had only had one rehearsal, a very brief one at that, it was easy to find the rhythm with Nini there. It was always easy with her. Sure, they’ve had their ups and downs, but they always came back around. It helped that he never let go of her hand for the entirety of the song and that the rest of the cast joined them up on stage, providing the energy he needed to get through the rest of it. He had to admit, he may not consider himself a singer, but when Nini was with him, he didn’t mind it; the singing. 

It was actually pretty fun performing the rest of the song. Ricky couldn’t remember the last time he had had that much fun, besides the actual musical fo course. But lately, with everything still going on with his parents and then with Nini. It was nice to just be there in the moment. Nini by his side, dancing, singing, laughing. And yet, there was still that question that lingered in the back of his mind, deterring him from full bliss: what did he do to deserve all this?

He found her at the end of the talent show after being separated by the rest of the cast. They had won the whole thing, which Ricky didn’t even know there was a cash prize so that was pretty cool, so of course everyone got a hug from everyone. She had found her way back on the rooftop. This time, though she wasn’t curled up into herself in the corner, but she instead was glancing out over the ledge, her arms stretching on top of it, gazing up at the stars.

“Thought I’d find you here,” Ricky called out to her. She turned around to face him, a smile on her lips. 

“Yeah, just needed a bit of a breather after everything. Plus, this is the best place to see all the stars,” she commented before motioning her head up towards the sky and turning back to face it. Ricky took that as a signal that he could join her and made his way to the spot beside her.She was right. About the stars. This was the most he had seen in a long time. And they were pretty, that’s for sure, but Ricky couldn’t help, but look at her and think of how lucky he is to be standing here. Not only just standing here, but that she let him. She noticed almost immediately, that he was looking at her, her cheeks tinting with red before she turned to face him.

“What? Why are you-um, why are you looking at me like that?” She questioned softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ricky hesitated, being so used to not being able to say anything remotely close to what he wanted to say to her for the longest time, not being deserving of everything, before letting out a soft chuckle at the thought.

“Nothing, just-for so long I wanted to be in this moment with you again and now I can’t help, but wonder what I did to deserve it…I shouldn’t have hugged Gina the way that I did after the show. I was just so caught up in the excitement of everything that I didn’t realize what I was doing. And even after everything, you forgive me. Why?” He questioned. Nini glanced down at the ground for a moment then, playing with her fingers, which Ricky has gathered during the 10 years he’s known her, that it means she knows what she ants to say, but doesn’t know how. 

“Actually…I kind of um…I overreacted a bit. You should be allowed to have friends. You and Gina have a lot in common and that’s awesome. That’s so good for you. I should just trust you. If we don’t have trust then…what’s the point? Besides, Gina actually came and settled things with me a couple days ago. We’re on good terms and she was the one who told me I should give you a say in it all. She helped plan everything actually. The song, the choreography, getting you to sing. Getting me to sing. And she’s right. I mean-this moment’s really all we have, isn’t it? We should grab it while we can,” She finished with a smirk, quoting a line from the song they had sung not too long ago. 

Ricky stood there, stunned. He, for a moment, thought that he had forgotten how to speak, heck, forgotten what words were even. But he knew he had to say something. He wanted to say something. Wanted to tell her how much this meant to him. How much she meant to him. How lucky he was to have her in his life. How incredible and amazing she was. How he wanted to make this moment last forever. 

Instead, all he could do, was kiss her. Show her he what he wanted to say. Every kiss, he pulled her closer, wanting to never let go. He traced his thumb on her cheek, memorizing the softness of it all. He savored the feeling of what he could only describe as stardust that overflowed in his veins; the electricity that sparked all over their lips. 

He hadn’t wanted to sing on that stage. And he definitely still didn’t call himself a singer. But if doing all of that meant that he’d feel like he was back in kindergarten all over agin, back with Nini at this side, he’d do it everyday.


End file.
